Nikon unveils tiny Coolpix S02 for 'trendy individuals'

Nikon has taken the wraps off the Coolpix S02 - a tiny metal-bodied 13MP compact camera with a smartphone-sized CMOS sensor and 2.7-inch touch-sensitive LCD. The S02 does not accept memory cards, but comes with 7.3GB of built-in storage. The entire package, built around a 3x (30-90mm equiv) zoom lens is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Apart from the new sensor, the most notable improvement compared to the S01 is the addition of 1080p video. Curiously, for a camera so clearly aimed at 'hip' and 'stylish' (read: young) people, the S02 does not feature any connectivity options, either built-in or via optional accessories.

The S02 will be available later this month in three colors, at an MSRP of $179.95.

THE NEW NIKON COOLPIX S02 IS THE ULTRA-CHIC ANSWER FOR CAPTURING AMAZING IMAGES

The Perfect Accessory: The COOLPIX S02 is Super Compact, Stylish and Simple to Use

MELVILLE, N.Y. (September 5, 2013) – Today, Nikon Inc. introduced the tiny COOLPIX S02, a stylish, super-compact camera that proves great image quality can come in small packages. The new COOLPIX camera is ideal for those who seek easy-to-use features and speedy performance whether on-the-go or out on the town with friends. The S02 is a stylish, hip and inexpensive ultra-mini compact camera, and a great gift for the trendy individual.

The new COOLPIX S02 features an easy-navigable home screen and user interface with shortcut menus for quick operation, making it simple to acquire share-worthy images with incredible detail and sharpness. The S02 strikes a balance between style and size, making it a must-have accessory to have on hand at all times.

“The new COOLPIX S02 is Nikon’s latest super sleek offering to give consumers a simple way to achieve exceptional image quality with stylish flair,“ said Bo Kajiwara, Vice President of Marketing, Planning and Customer Experience, Nikon Inc. “The COOLPIX S02 is user-friendly, making it great for capturing memorable moments in an instant with ease.”

The COOLPIX S02’s ultra-compact design houses a 13.2-megapixel CMOS sensor to help users capture amazing image quality and Full HD 1080p video, even in challenging lighting conditions. The 3x zoom NIKKOR lens of the S02 helps produce truly exceptional images that only a camera with a zoom lens can help capture. Though astoundingly small, the S02 is easy to operate thanks to a highly responsive 2.7-inch touch screen, letting the user focus on capturing every precious moment.

In addition to its fashionable, compact design, the COOLPIX S02 also includes user-friendly features like Scene Auto Selector Mode which helps the user effortlessly capture high quality images. To help the user capture images in almost any scenario or lighting condition with ease and confidence, the ideal scene mode is automatically chosen based on the distinctive shooting situation (portrait, landscape, night portrait, night landscape, close-up and backlighting). The COOLPIX S02 also includes a hand-held night scene mode for improved low-light shots and backlit scene HDR for improved picture quality even in brightly lit situations. Additionally, a group of special effects can be used to give images a new fun, creative twist, including Mirror, Sepia, High Contrast Monochrome, High Key and Low Key.

Price and Availability

The Nikon COOLPIX S02 will be available in September 2013 for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $179.95* in a variety of trendy colors including silver, white, pink and blue. For more information about this COOLPIX camera and other Nikon products, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

In order to give consumers a more effective way to understand the benefits of each COOLPIX camera and to help users determine the best camera to fit their lifestyle, Nikon has segmented the COOLPIX series into five categories: Advanced Performance, Fun & Innovative, Ultra-Slim Zoom, Comfort Long Zoom and Budget Friendly. For more information about this and other COOLPIX cameras, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

**SRP (Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.

Comments

What is the point, most of those ultra compact point and shoot cameras often don't do much better than the cellphone cameras.

You still get no bokeh or any other enhancements over major enhancements over the smartphone, all you really gain is a real zoom, and less image noise and a little more detail, but at such a high cost it is not enough of an improvement to justify the cost.

If you are going to spend more than $150 on a camera, just save up your money and get at least a DSLR. You will get much better quality and not have the look of " durrrr something was happening and I pulled out the camera and pushed the button yay!!!"

While different levels of cameras have their place, often when you start investing more money into camera gear, you are likely looking for a better and more professional looking end result.

Actually, now that I think of it, why not stick a 35mm-equiv fixed lens small camera in a replica Zippo lighter case? Great branding possibilities... military Zippo case designs, college sports case designs, etc, etc...

ON/OFF, zoom, shutter, and playback. Make it twice the size, run it on AAs, and you have the perfect grandma-cam.

You laugh, but I'm serious. Give an octogenarian a camera and that's all they really need or want. I got one like that and a pack of 10 - 256MB SD cards for my wife's grandmother for her 90th birthday. I told her to use it just like film - when the card is full, just take it to RiteAid and they'll print pictures. She can store the cards in a little case and when (ahem, if) she fills them up we can get together and I can reset them for her. When the batteries run out every year or so at her rate), she just picks up another pair.

It's been a huge hit. Beat's the heck out of the disposable cameras she was always taking pictures with!

This camera is intended for those who don't own a phone or aren't allowed to own a phone yet.Yes it's for the 4th graders and under as it perfectly fits their still small growing hands but have out grown their Fisher Price toy cameras.

But would you really want to give a kid a camera that cost nearly $200 and has no weather sealing or impact protection?

If you want too teach a kid to use a camera and take better photos, then you need one of those impact resistant, waterproof $90 nikon cool pix or somethign similar. (the zoom mechanisms are all internal and they are designed to take more of a beating so 1 mistake won't destroy the device, and it will allow them to bet some of the extreme basics (composition and handling of a camera, when they have proven them self to not mistake the camera for a football, then you can move up to a cheap $200 (or 140 used (with kit lens) Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3. it will offer manual controls to get them used to used to picking their aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, and also processing their own RAW files, then finally they can move up to a proper DSLR (or borrow yours) with a proper larger sensor, and keep the micro 4/3 as a backup

Nikon forgot to say that this camera is for "trendy individuals" who don't own camera phones; NO need to get this camera if you have one, unless you're dying to have a zoom lens. A very niche market, I'd say, and not exactly a very promising prospect in terms of sales.

I second that. There might not be much noise visible, but then there would be a lot of noise reduction smearing of anything resembling texture and detail. Smartphones and compact cameras would have been so much better if they'd capped the megapixels relative to sensor size at a realistic number. Imagine the better per-pixel sharpness, the better dynamic range, better colours, better high ISO performance, and with even smaller file sizes: it's a win-win-win-win-win situation to reduce the resolution.

It appears to be a copy of my 8-year old Canon Elph (which is fine, since it works perfectly and really does go in a pocket). The Elph has buttons and even a tiny viewfinder but other than that, seems pretty similar.

Hmm. Not a million miles away from the Minox B that used to dangle around my neck on a chain when I was travelling in Asia back in the 70s. Probably takes better snaps too. But I'll pass, thanks.FAO Nikon marketing division:The word "trendy" is no longer "trendy". It wasn't even very "trendy" 30 years ago...

I'm not sure what this camera is trying to achieve from a marketing/strategic standpoint. No WI-FI built-in? Looks dead-on-arrival to me.

What would be good for Nikon to sell perhaps would be a compact camera of similar size with f/1.8-2.4 (25-90mm equiv.) zoom lens, WI-FI built in, full touchscreen control of focus and exposure (like iPhone), and RAW capability for those who want it. It should be priced no more than $250. Perhaps that would be marketable.

Or perhaps Nikon should simply build a nice iPhone zoom lens that's not priced over $100, and complement it with an app that allows RAW - again for those who want it.

They are going backwards compared to the world. People are dumping point and shoot cameras in favor of smartphone cameras, Nikon expects the opposite. And then they complain that their new camera systems don't sell well. A smartphone has way better lens than the F3.3 of the Nikon.

It should have come with wifi so it can be used in conjunction with a smartphone. I am sure it does take better photos than a smartphone but people who are "chic" and "cool" don't care about photography, they just want to take pictures and there's a fine line between the two.

I'll admit it...I bought into the cuteness of the S01. Had to have one...in red! Turned out to be the best purchase I made....for my friend's 7 year old daughter. She loves it and it's the perfect size for her.

There is a market for these -- not the hip and stylish one they claim, but the 6 & 7 year olds who want to run around and take pictures.

My first thought was that this camera seems to be aimed at people who don't have a smartphone. I do have a couple of friends who have held on to their old not-smart phones ("all I want to do is make calls") but that immediately tells you they won't want a gimmick camera. Which leaves 7-year-olds.

I don't own this camera, but if this camera is "ULTRA-CHIC ANSWER FOR CAPTURING AMAZING IMAGES"Then there must be no words in my dictionary that can describe the pictures the D800E takes. (Or even the Panasonic LX3 for that matter)